Education bill not right for global economy, TAB says

The Texas Senate’s version of an education-reform bill that changes high school curriculum requirements won’t adequately prepare the state's students to compete in the global economy, according to the Texas Association of Business.

House Bill 5, authored by State Rep. Jimmie Don Ayock, R-Killeen, and sponsored by State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, passed off the Senate floor Monday, but in a different form to what the House envisioned when it approved its version of the legislation more than a month ago, the Texas Tribune reports.

“The question for us is: Will this bill improve Texas’ ability to compete in the global marketplace?” said TAB president and CEO Bill Hammond. “Unfortunately our conclusion is that it will not.”

The Senate’s version still drops the number of required state exams for graduation from 15 to five in biology, U.S. history, algebra I, and English I and II; and would allow students to complete diplomas in specialized areas — also known as endorsements — such as the humanities, science and technology, and business and industry, the Tribune reports. But it changes the courses that students must complete to graduate under those endorsements, most significantly requiring four years of math for all of them.

The bill will enable students to pursue a traditional path into colleges and universities or move directly into the workforce to help fill the critical skills shortage identified by business leaders, Patrick said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

But the bill fails to achieve a higher accountability system, according to Hammond, by only using an A-F grading system for school districts and not individual schools.

“Our students don’t attend school districts — they attend schools,” Hammond said. “This will allow schools to hide poor performance from parents who need to know if their child’s school is doing a good job or not.”

The legislation, which passed the Senate by a unanimous vote, now goes to conference committee, where representatives from both chambers will work out their differences.